


The curiosity of Piper Wright

by Pluh



Series: What the future holds [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-30 00:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6400102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pluh/pseuds/Pluh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Piper goes missing and Nora does everything in her power to find her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A feeling

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all. This is the first story in my 'What the future holds' series that I am writing, and I thank you for taking the time to read them. They will not be in any particular order and most will be based off of things that happened in my play through with some embellishments just like this one. This will also probably be the longest one of all of them but I can't make any promises.

Sitting down with a flop on a dusty old couch that has found its way to the top of a building overlooking Boston, Nora leans her head back, closes her eyes, and smiles a little at the relief she feels. It had been a long hard fought battle while trying to get the serum to cure MacCready's sick son Duncan, and she was looking forward to this downtime and a drink. They have all been long hard battles, but this one was a little more difficult for Nora since it hit close to home, and Piper wasn't with her. She was always with her, and always knew how to comfort her if something reminded her of Shaun, but not this time.

This time someone else had a problem they needed help with and as always they went to Nora for assistance. It was MacCready who was the one to ask for her help and Nora could not refuse due to the reason behind the mercenaries request. She was reluctant at first, but his son was sick and that's all the sole survivor of Vault 111 needed to hear. 

This mission felt endless as they searched through the extremely large Med-Tek Research building that was filled with Feral Ghouls so after retrieving the cure they both agreed that they needed rest before heading to Goodneighbor, then back to Sanctuary. Currently sitting on the roof of one of the many destroyed buildings around the Commonwealth, sharing a bottle of whiskey, looking out over what used to be the great city of Boston while watching the sun go down on another day, the two companions nod at each other, smile and take a drink. Feeling the burn of the whiskey and how her body and senses react to the drink allows her to relax, but at that moment a feeling of dread overtakes everything else. As happy as she should be for the mercenary, something just doesn't feel right. Normally it's her intuition telling her to stay out of sight as a band of Super mutants are patrolling the area, or to look twice at the body in the road because it's actually a Feral Ghoul instead of a lifeless corpse. She can even sense any traps set up by Raiders, but this is different. This time it's her gut telling her that something has happened and they need to get home.

"Something's wrong," Nora states, taking another quick drink from the bottle she is holding and stands up.  

"You hear something?" Robert grabs for his weapon as he tries to listen for whatever seems to have spooked his companion.

He hasn't traveled with her much, but it didn't take long for MacCready to figure out that if she says something is off, then something is off.

"No..." She shakes her head as she looks out towards Sanctuary. The chill that runs through her body on the warm summer day only solidifies the feeling that is telling her to get back home.

"But I need to leave now!"

"Wait. Nora hold on." Robert calls out for her and grabs her arm when she attempts to leave. He lets go as soon as she gives him a look that says 'let go' but steps in front of her in hopes that she hears him out.

"I appreciate the help, I really do, but I was hoping to get this cure to Goodneighbor..." 

"So then go!" Her expression and voice are laced with annoyance and she moves around MacCready to leave. The lone Vault 111 survivor has about enough of people asking her for help with shit.

"I did my part dammit!" Nora says over her shoulder but then stops midway down the steps. She regrets the words as soon as she says them, but she is scared.

She stops, sighs, and turns around to face her friend and hopes he will forgive her.

"Look I'm sorry, but something is telling me to get back to Sanctuary and these feelings that I get haven't been wrong so far, so I need to do this for my own sanity." She smiles in appreciation when he agrees with her which relieves part of her stress, but not much.

He also agrees that if they both leave now then they can get to their destinations before it gets too dark. Traveling under the cover of darkness has its advantages but she's already experienced first hand how dangerous it can be. The two companions part ways after they shake hands and only after MacCready promises to return to Sanctuary when he's done. 

Nora gets to the street level quickly and begins her run back to her home. She's been through this area of the Commonwealth before and knows the safest route to take but it doesn't mean that it stays that way. She gets lucky this time as she catches herself moving out into the open without so much as a glance at the above buildings. She berates herself for her foolishness and begins to think that splitting up wasn't the best idea. No matter, since neither one of them would have been able to convince the other to ignore what they felt they needed to do.

She wishes this would go away but each time she tries to convince herself that everything is probably fine it gets worse. The worry has become so sickening that she is now running at nearly full speed to get to her destination quicker. Being a long distance runner in school, Nora would normally be able to make the treck rather easily, but her weapon and pack are weighing her down.

Grabbing a stimpack and water, she drops her bag and continues to pace herself a little easier now, but her breathing and heart rate are still erratic. She is panicking, and she needs to get into a rhythm or risk collapsing before she gets half way there. Slowing her pace momentarily, Nora begins to get her breathing into her pattern of inhale three steps and exhale two. With her rifle secured to her back, she increases her speed while repeating to herself that she has to breathe, or she won't make it.

The closer Nora gets to Sanctuary the more relaxed she feels, and she exhales a little more in relief when she sees the big "Red Rocket" sign. Passing by the former gas station, now settlement, ignoring the waves from the people there that recognize her, Nora increases to a full-on sprint, knowing that Sanctuary is near, desperately wanting to get there.

"General?" Preston is the first to meet up with her. He had run down the main road to meet her before she reached the gate as the Minutemen must have noticed her as soon as she passed the statue near the bridge, and Nora is grateful and exhausted.

"Is there something wrong?" The worry is clear in his voice, having never seen the leader of the Minutemen act like this before.

"Yes..." She says finally after a few deep breaths. "Have you seen Piper?"

Time seems to stand still after she asks the question that has made her wrought with fear, and run halfway across the Commonwealth. It is mainly due to a lack of an answer from Preston who is looking back at her confused. Nora begins to wonder if she is so out of breath that she spoke incoherently, but Garvey finally answers her and it sends her mind racing.

"I thought she was with you." He says to the leader of the Minutemen and she forgets all about her fatigue and shortness of breath. "She said she had to check on something in Diamond City and then the two of you were going to meet up."

She tries to relax a little after hearing what he has to say, but a stray thought runs through her mind.

"When did she leave? Did she leave with anyone?" Nora asks quickly.

"Uh, three days ago." He says immediately or tries to. "And yeah actually she did leave with someone." Preston is trying to think quickly since the look on Nora's face is one of impatience.

"There was a Ghoul that said he was leaving to go to another settlement...The Slog, I think he said. He a...he wore a yellow coat and hat..."

"Wait, the Vault -tec rep guy? Three days?!"

"I guess that's him. They were supposed to travel with Carla I think, so it's more than just the two of them. What's this all about anyway?" The concern in his question is genuine and it's mainly due to never seeing the Vault 111 survivor panic like this before. "She should be at Diamond City."

"I think Piper's in trouble." Nora should really be feeling better with everything he is saying but she's not. "It's just a feeling but..."  

"Your feelings are never wrong." He finishes her sentence and understands everything now. "Look, it's too dark now, but I'll send the word out to the Castle to broadcast for everyone to be on the lookout for her. There are Minutemen all over the Commonwealth now General, so it will only be a matter of time. Okay?" Seeing that she is not fully convinced he continues but not before she interrupts.

"How could I have forgotten this Preston?"

"Listen to me." He says a little sternly since her attention is facing back to where she just ran from. "You're exhausted, and bleeding." He states as he motions to the trail of blood running down the front of her shirt. Probably from a wound suffered on the last mission. "And probably hungry as well, so come back with me, and we will get you stitched up and you can head out at first light. You've traveled this route before and it takes time to get there and send word, so let's try not to jump the gun."

She nods and reluctantly, allows him to lead her away from where she really wants to go. Nora doubts she will be able to eat or sleep and is set on getting bandaged up by the Doc and heading to Diamond City as soon as possible. She needs to know that Piper is okay, and it can't wait for the light of day.

X

X

X

X

Piper loves traveling around the Commonwealth. She has been doing it for her entire life, and most of the time she was alone. In fact, right up until she met the Vault 111 survivor when Danny or the mayor tried to lock her out of Diamond City, she had missed it since she hadn't been outside of the walls in months; taking care of Nat. She was always investigating any story that she caught wind of, no matter how small it may have seemed, and that particular day she had overheard someone talk about a firefight near the wreck of the USS Riptide that had apparently happened. Everyone who knew anything about that area had sense enough to stay away from there. Sure it had countless military supplies, and it was a straight shot across the river, but the Raiders who lived there were already using what was there to rob unsuspecting travelers who crossed anywhere near their territory. But when Piper heard about it she didn't even think about the danger involved; it was a story and she needed to investigate it.

It had been so long since she went anywhere that the walls of Diamond City felt like they were closing in on her and Piper was about go stir crazy. So she grabbed her gun, notepad, and pencil, said goodbye to Nat and ran out of the gates. By the time she arrived to where the shootout had occurred, it was cleared of everything, except the bodies of the Raiders. Even the dead were stripped down to their undergarments, and Piper could only wonder who would take everything that wasn't nailed down, but she soon found out who was responsible; it had been Blue.

Of course, the pack-rat of the Commonwealth took everything she could carry and it made sense when Piper had thought back to the day they first met since Blue had an awful lot of Raider armor and weapons to sell. The Diamond City reporter was just happy that she knew all of the shortcuts to areas all over and somehow made it to the bridge and back to her home a little before Blue arrived. Eventually, Piper was able to show the Vault 111 survivor those shortcuts she had learned over the years, and more after she gave her the interview of the century, and agreed to watch her back while she looked for her son; and the Publick Occurrences reporter has been on cloud nine ever since. She was able to see the Commonwealth in a whole new light when she traveled with Blue. Piper was able to watch a woman create homes and help people she didn't know, and not ask for anything in return; other than support for the Minutemen.

Piper soon looked at her in awe whenever Blue would help a settlement get started by planting crops, or create clean water stations for people who were in desperate need. She even helped raise multi-level shelters, make beds, and build defense turrets in order to keep the settlements happy, out of the harsh elements, and safe. It was an amazing thing to see, and Piper is honored that she was along for the journey. She and Blue traveled together extensively, with a few exceptions, and Piper knew that she could not take up all of her preserved relic's time, and now was no different. She knows that it will only be a short time apart and she's doing the right thing by escorting the Ghoul from Goodneighbor to his new settlement, who amazingly enough knows Blue from before the war, but Piper misses her and wants to get back to Sanctuary as soon as she can. 

But for now, Piper, along with the Vault-tec rep, have spent the past couple of days traveling with Trashcan Carla on her supply route to The Slog. It's where the Ghoul in yellow felt like he could get a fresh start since it was run by other Ghouls like him, and Piper agreed to accompany him since he looked scared to venture out on his own. Piper and Carla are supposed to continue on and head to Diamond City, but they arrived late and made the decision to stay at The Slog for a night. Piper decided to set up a makeshift camp on the roof of the pool house since there wasn't much room on the inside. Strong is here and may "accidentally" step on her again in her sleep, (the reason for his temporary banishment after she made her remark on killing more just like him), but the main attraction she found is the panoramic view of the Commonwealth. She could be alone with her thoughts, a pencil, and watch the sun set on another day while memories of her lover run through her mind.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." She says and lets out a long sigh while looking out over the Commonwealth. It's what Blue had said to her the first time they were apart after revealing their feelings for each other.

Piper had never heard of that saying before and soon understood it, but no more than right now. Looking out at the Sun as it lowers, Piper pulls the blanket she carries everywhere a little tighter around her body as a slight breeze has picked up, and she doesn't have the warmth of another to hold her. The fire along with the whiskey- nukacola mixture that she is drinking, that some surprisingly well preserved two hundred-year-old woman got her turned onto helps, but nothing compares to her Blue. She sighs a little when the light from another day slips behind the mountains off in the distance and she is left to put her thoughts into words by the light of the fire. When her eyes begin to strain she soon has to be content with waiting until she can see again. Piper stuffs her new notebook that was a gift into her bag, so she can be ready to leave at a moments notice if need be, smiling while she does it. It's just another one of Blue's rules that she tells everyone who travels with her. 

_"Travel light, and make sure you can pick up camp in under fifteen seconds, even in the dark,"_ Piper says loud enough so only she can hear while mimicking the Vault 111 survivor.

Ranks right up there in importance to _"Keep moving"... "Always carry a backup weapon"..._ and _"Always, always, always, take your weapon with you when you use the bathroom. And for God sakes check the entire area before you drop trough."_

Piper remembers the confused, disgusted face she had made at that last one, shaking her head at how serious she emphasized the latter rule until she had an incident with a Yao guan with her pants around her ankles, and nothing but a pocket knife to defend herself with. Nora had ended up saving a very shaken up and embarrassed half naked Piper and the reporter began to listen to all of Blue's rules from that day forward. There weren't that many mutated Black bears roaming around but one is enough. Plus, Blue promised to keep that incident to herself if she promised to follow her rules more carefully, but thinking about all of this makes her long for the hero of the Commonwealth a little more. Sitting there with her knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around, and resting her chin on them, she is about to close her eyes when she hears footsteps come up from behind. 

In an instant, she throws off the blanket, and has her pistol aimed at whoever is trying to sneak up on her, but she relaxes when she sees who it is.

"Oh god please don't shoot!" The Vault-Tec rep cries out, throwing his arms up in surrender, and falling to the ground. 

"Sorry." Piper points her revolver up and away but is annoyed at the interruption. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people? It's how you get yourself shot."  _Another Blue rule._

"It doesn't matter if we are in a settlement." Piper continues to berate the visibly shaken Ghoul. "Everything is trying to kill you here." _Christ, another of her rules._

"Remember that, and you'll live longer." _God, I sound just like her._

She offers a hand and helps him to his feet and begins to feel bad for laying into him the way she did after the adrenaline wears off. Then she hears what he has to say, and she regrets not pulling the trigger.

"I'm sorry for that." He says in shaky grave voice. "I was just looking for you...had to tell you something." He pauses for a moment until he sees her brow raise and her body language say to continue.

"Uh, well...I guess they don't have room for me here." He says to the now visibly annoyed reporter.

Her arms fall to her side, eyes close tight, and head looks up as an audible groan comes from her.

"Did they say why they can't just make the room?" She asks through gritted teeth. Piper is not sure what he is about to say to her but she isn't going to like it at all.

"Well no, but I think I know why." He says sheepishly.

"Everything was fine and they really seemed to like me...Until I told them that I don't have any skills other than selling Vaults." He jumps a little when he hears the loud slap after Piper puts her face in her palms, then he twitches a little while she says some muffled choice words into her hands. 

"You didn't learn anything from your time at Sanctuary?" She asks after her arms swing down to her side. When she receives only a shake of the head in return, she continues.

"So now what?" If nothing else the Diamond City reporter has learned one very valuable lesson during her time with Blue, and that is don't ask a question you don't want the answer to, and this is one of those times, and she flinches at each of his answers, wishing she could turn back time.

"Well I had heard from some of the others about another settlement...that was new...I think it was called Croup Manor."

Piper holds up a hand to stop him from saying anything else. Of course, he would want to go there. It is one of the worst places that Blue has decided to set up shop at. The place was scary as shit. They were constantly fighting off Ghouls, and even Strong hated it there. This is not what she needs, but even though it was going to take an extra days travel, and made no sense to bring him to a new settlement when an old established one didn't want him, Piper could just hear Blue's voice chastising her, throwing her own words back at her.

_"Most people are just looking for a hand. It's up to us to give it to them."_

"Fine." She groans out and turns back to her bed in a huff. "But it will only be us since Carla is heading a different way."

"That's great, thank you so..."

"Tomorrow." Piper cuts him off.

"Right now I need my sleep." Her patience is gone but doesn't want to take it out on the appreciative Vault-Tec salesman. She repositions herself under her blanket, with her chin on her arms, and returns to looking back out into the still night hoping that this set back wouldn't delay her from seeing Blue for too much longer.

That was three days ago, and as Piper sits in the locked room she is being held in, trying not to think about the bodies she is surrounded by or the Vault-Tec salesman, her hope that Blue will rescue her soon is starting to fade with each passing moment. Her worst fears are becoming reality. That she will die in this room and she'll never see the two most important people in her life again. She takes out her pad and begins to write what will probably her final thoughts. 


	2. A search

To say that Piper Wright is someone who is curious and gets into situations that she has a hard time getting out of would be like saying the Commonwealth is a dangerous place, or the mayor of Diamond City is a synth. It's obvious, and once you meet her then you'd realize that the Diamond City reporter has been like this since she was a little girl. Constantly getting into trouble and sticking her neck into other people's business. Her father could always tell when she was about to do some "investigating", as she called it when she'd get this look about her. Her prying eyes would narrow and he knew at that moment that she was about to get in over her head. He didn't mind having to explain to his neighbors in the small settlement they had lived in why his daughter was snooping through their home because in his eyes his princess could do no wrong.

It is unfortunate that Piper does not see it the same way since he was the reason why she became a reporter in the first place. Finding her father murdered, and exposing his killer gave her a sense of purpose, a sense of duty to her fellow neighbors who had been wronged, and she soon became the person she is today; someone who will unearth the truth by any means necessary. Piper would become an excellent reporter but found herself in more situations that she didn't think she'd get out of, by being poisoned, stabbed, shot and almost became a sacrifice to an unexploded nuclear weapon. Initially, she really didn't think of the consequences if something ever happened to her, but she soon figured out that Nat would lose her, and more than likely follow in her footsteps and want to try and find the truth about how Piper met her end, and she did not want that.

Piper found herself taking fewer risks and going out into the Commonwealth less and less, but Nat was still Nat; still, that curious young woman who started to mirror her older sister. Piper felt like she was going to be the reason for ruining her sister's life if she continued to stay nearby, but that all changed once she met Blue. The Vault 111 survivor gave her back that purpose and outlook on life she had thought lost, and the Diamond City reporter has loved every minute that she has spent with Blue especially with the amount of help they have provided. That almost ended as quickly as it started once Piper admitted part of the reason for her accompanying Blue across the Commonwealth;

_"Stay away from Nat long enough and she won't want to be like me."_

The look on Blues face and the statement she made directly after about not letting go of family because you could lose them forever, made Piper want to stop everything and go home to hug Nat and Blue for a week. Now though, she'd give anything to see the two people she loves the most one last time.

"So you're that reporter bitch." One of her captors named Blake had come into the makeshift cell area, and for the first few moments didn't say anything; just sat there and stared.

"Don't try and deny it. We know all about you and your little slut you pal around with." He says with an evil suggestive grin.

His tone and look on his face are enough to make the hairs on Pipers arm to stand up, and skin to crawl. There have been many a time when she was able to talk her way out of a situation, or had help from Blue, but this isn't looking like it will be one of those times.

"We've had our sights on the both of you for a while now. You've been a pain in our ass, but that'll change soon enough." He laughs again, and for the first time since she was taken, she is glad to have the bars in between them.

"I guess it's just our lucky day that you found us." He laughs as he walks out of the room and Piper breaths a sigh of relief. She's never been caught by Raiders before. Never been foolish enough to allow it, but she couldn't just sit by while they attacked that caravan. Even still though, she wishes her curiosity would stop getting her into trouble.

"How the hell did I end up here?" She asks while staring at a spot on the floor.

It has been three days since she's been locked away in her small cell, and what little supplies that she was not stripped of are running low. She is beginning to feel the effects of not having enough water, food, and sleep, and knows that it is only a matter of time before she is too weak to move. It is unfortunate since she had at least one more big story to finish, involving herself and her travels with Blue.

"Well..." A voice comes from out of the dark corner on the opposite side of the room which makes Piper roll her eyes. "You thought it was a good idea to investigate the gunfire we heard, but I wanted to..."

"Yeah, I got it, thanks!" She shakes her head at the Vault-Tec salesmen's statement. "And you wanted to ignore it and keep moving."

Of course, he would be in here with her to annoy the shit out of her in her final moments. She is obviously not meant to die alone so why not have this Ghoul in here who is panicking, and making this entire situation worse.

_'He could be anywhere else'_ -she thinks- _someplace like... Oh, I don't know, staying at Sanctuary hills_.  _Or not opening his mouth when he was asked what skills he had while we were at the Slog, or the best option; turning feral so I had a reason to shoot him.'_

That last reason alone sends a chill down her spine and brings up the question-What would happen if he did finally turn right now? What would she be able to do then, with no weapon? The Raiders would definitely get a show out of it.

"What have you done in the last two hundred years anyway?" She asks and can only assume that he is unable to look back at her, being too embarrassed, or he is giving her the finger; she's not sure.

"I know, I know," Piper says waving her arms around while trying to imitate his voice. "You were screwed out of a spot in the Vault after working for them for so long, but Nora can attest to how the amenities were down there." The last words said with a bit more spite in them. It hurts her to think of what Blue had gone through- what they all went through when they were promised safety.

"I mean, you didn't even bother to try and help yourself much less anyone else, but it only took Blue all of twenty-four hours after walking out of the vault after two hundred years, and she was already helping people. And that was after her life had been completely turned upside down." Piper is beyond pissed off at everything and taking it out on the Ghoul in yellow is the only thing she can think to do. He is an easy target for her to go after but she isn't expecting his retort.

"Don't you think I don't know that?" He yells back, and Piper hopes no one heard him and comes in to investigate the commotion. She isn't sure why they've been kept alive as long as they have, maybe using her for bait, but she is sure that won't be the case once they no longer have a use for them. 

"I tried to help those that survived after the bombs went off?" His voice lacks the conviction it first had, and Piper can almost see the downtrodden look he probably has.

"The first couple of years were awful. Most who survived that didn't look like me were too afraid to accept my help, and all of us ghouls were eventually shunned. Not much has changed, but at least we have Goodneighbor now. Most of us just gave up trying after a while and left people alone, but that wasn't enough. They wanted us gone and pushed us towards the glowing sea. That's where most of the feral ones come from- they are left over survivors of the Great War, with survival being their only crime. They were forced to an area that turned them into the creatures they are today. Now they just wander back into the Commonwealth after a while, but I was lucky I guess."

He pauses a moment to reflect on everything he has been through and finally moves into the light to the cell door, leaning his head on the bars.

"So to answer your question, yes, I tried to do something, but the people didn't want my help."

Piper's anger has subsided the more she hears from the Vault-tec rep. She actually feels bad for the guy with everything he's had to deal with and in that moment she realizes that he would have been just as good a story as Blue. His next statement solidifies that claim but also gives her back a sense of self-preservation.

"I've seen the rise and fall of the Commonwealth to cover five lifetimes, and it hasn't gotten any better. I know your friend has done a lot of good, and things might change because of her, so if this is my fate then so be it."  

"No," Piper says convincingly. "We aren't going to die here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because of what that Raider said." Pipers smile grows as she realizes that her worst nightmares may not come true, and they are being used to attract the one person she wants to see most, her Blue.

X

X

X

X

To say that Nora is upset over the disappearance of Piper Wright would be a severe understatement. It would be like comparing the bombs that were dropped during the Great War to a firecracker. It's the same as calling a Death Claw a nice pet to have, or a pack of Super Mutants attacking a settlement not that big of a deal, or the Institute's kidnapping of her son Shaun, a minor inconvenience, or...oh fuck it, she misses Piper, and none of that other shit matters. If this is anything like Piper had to deal with when she had gone to the Institute for the first time, and missing for three days then Nora has a lot more apologizing to do once she finds her. The problem is that they are no closer to finding her than they were three days ago and Nora is beyond upset at the fact that she could find a kidnapped settler with no problem, but not the woman she loves.

She slams her fist down onto Nick's desk while sitting in the detective's office, surrounded by all of her companions, making everyone there flinch.

"So no-one has anything new to tell me?" She asks and looks around the room, finding only gazes lowering and apologetic looks in return.

"Where is Cait?" Again, nothing.

Nora has been nervous about Piper's chances of survival each day that goes by with no news. She has been searching across the Commonwealth for the past three days with the help of the Minutemen, local farmers, and even the Railroad. Most everyone has pitched in to help her look once they heard that the Diamond City reporter was missing, and Nora is grateful, but she hopes it will be enough. It didn't take a genius to see that Piper means something to the hero of the Commonwealth and if anyone deserved help it was the two of them. But another problem has arisen; keeping all of this from Nat. They have been using Nicks office as a rendezvous point so they can go over the progress or lack thereof, and it is only a matter of time before Piper's younger, inquisitive sister figures out something is wrong.

"Tell me where you all went to then, so I can mark it off," Nora says and lets out a long sigh of frustration. She has just returned to Diamond City herself, having come back from the Mahkra Fish packing plant and worked her way down the coast, and plans on leaving again after this latest meeting. She knows she needs to sleep but Piper needs to be found.

Taking out a pencil, she places the tip on the map that they had made up to cross out areas they searched and awaits an answer. She didn't realize how large the Commonwealth actually was until they began looking for the reporter. She has been going non- stop over the last few days with no sleep and its beginning to take its toll. The fact that everyone is now answering her question at once is making everything worse, and the pencil tip nearly goes through the desk.

"One person at a fucking time!" She yells, slamming her fist again on the desk, again.

"I uh... went to a few Raider camps, blended in, and tried to listen in on what they were saying, but it doesn't sound like anyone knows about this." Deacon is the first to speak up.

"So you have nothing because obviously, they're not lying." Nora snaps back.

After a moment of silence, while everyone looks to one another to see who will be next to speak up, Nick comes to everyone's rescue.

"Why don't we all write down where you searched, who you talked with, and leave it with me." Everyone there agrees, does what Nick suggests, and quickly walks out of the synth detective's office. After the last person leaves, Nick locks the door, turns to face Nora, and hopes he can reach his friend.

"You know, snapping at everyone isn't going to help anything?" It is annoying how right he is sometimes, and right now is one of those times, but Nora does not want to hear his lecture.

"I need help finding her, not whatever this is, Nick." She says while making a gesture with her hands, not unlike the Publick Occurrences reporter, and looks back down at the papers in front of her. Valentine finds it funny how much alike the two of women actually are.

"You remind me of her in some ways, and in other ways, you don't." Nora quickly looks up and is about to tell him that he can leave with the others when he continues.  

"Your attitude for one."

"Fuck you, Nick, alright?"

"Your mouth is the other." He says without missing a beat.

"But I remember the first day Piper and her sister arrived in Diamond City and how scared she looked. That was until I approached them and introduced myself. She was nice and I don't think she had any run-ins with my kind before, but she immediately put herself in between me and Nat, and I could tell that she was wearing a brave face and had been for quite some-time." Nora has since stopped writing and is now paying attention, but her expression is unreadable.

"Your arrival here was similar, except she was looking to start a new life, and you were trying to find yours." He continues but the only indication that she is even alive is when she blinks.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, that you two have found each other and in the process become the closest thing that I can call family, and I don't want to lose that." Nora is so surprised at the synths sentiment that she nearly misses what he says next. "You've all become family and there are people that are out there who want to help you, but you can't fault them for trying."

"I know Nick, trust me, I know," Nora says while running her hands through her hair.

"I'm so lost right now. I haven't heard anything, looked everywhere, and have no idea where to go next. Then to top it off I have Nat asking me when Piper is coming back every time I walk past. I feel like I'm losing my mind." She takes a long calming breath, but Nick can hear how shaky it is.

"All I know is that whoever took her better not have touched her or I'll..."

A knock on the door and Cait's voice on the other side breaks the tension in the room.

"Hey, let me in dammit." Her accent has always been thick but especially when she is agitated.

Walking in, the former pit fighter moves quickly to the desk Nora is sitting at and hands her a note.

"You need to read this," Cait says nodding towards the paper but explains what it says as Blue reads.

Nora's expression changes as she looks over the letter and hears what Cait has to say. Once she is done a look of pure anger comes across her face. Her focus turns to Cait, and she asks where the letter came from through gritted teeth. The answer she receives makes her mood that much worse.

"I caught some punk trying to give this to Nat after I brought Shaun here." Christ Shaun, how could she have forgotten about her son coming here today to stay with Nat.

She rubs her hands harshly across her face while trying to think of what her next move is when an idea comes to her.

"You still have the guys who handed this to Nat?"

"Aye...Diamond City security is watching him and his two buddies."

"Did Nat read it?"

"No. I caught them when they snuck in and were about to start trouble.  I was able to step in before the grimy bastards could give it to her."

"Good...and thanks." The wheels are turning in Nora's mind and she begins to write something down on the paper in front of her. Nick and Cait glance towards one another but neither one knows what she must be thinking. Either way, they don't have much time since the meeting that the Raiders are demanding for Piper's safe return is in less than an hour.

"Nick, take MacCready and get me what is on this list. Cait, get Strong and anyone else who wants to come, go to my apartment and grab as many sniper rifles as you can. Then have security release the three they have over to me and we all go to get Piper back."

Cait anxiously leaves and does as she is told, and Nora's lips curl up into a smile with how excited the two of them are. She can hear Strong's below outside the door since they will have an opportunity to fight today, but one thing remains, Nick Valentine.

"Do you mind telling me what you need these three tires, a lighter, cigarettes, a rope, and enough Mr. Handy fuel to burn down Diamond City at least three times?" There are some questions that should remain unasked, and this is one of those questions as Nick learns quickly.

"You're missing a couple of things that I wrote down, Nick," Nora says with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. When the expression and yellow eyes staring back at her don't change she becomes serious and answers his question.

"I've been battling it out with those fuckers since I woke up, but they just started a war that I'm going to end today! You talk about how everyone is apart of your family and I agree, but I don't know how to do this any other way so I need your help...please." 

 

 

 

 


	3. A recovery

"So this is your idea of a rescue?" Slag, the leader of the Raiders shakes his head and smiles in mild amusement while looking down from his perch at this supposed rescue attempt.

The balding man who looks like he hasn't missed a meal, but plenty of baths and the sight of his feet, is beginning to aggravate Nora and now she is regretting not bringing her Fatman to level the building but Piper is still at risk. Blue is trying not to let the visions of this asshole, with his stench, go near her lover, but he seems the type to want to have some fun at her expense; they all do and it’s making her anxious.

The letter that Cait had retrieved indicated that she come alone and an exchange could be made at the Corvega Plant since they only wanted Nora. She was going to go along with it and give herself up, but knew that Piper would do everything that she could to get Blue back, and get herself recaptured or worse in the process. After they observed the building where apparently the Raiders, and Gunners who are now working together, had set up shop, they knew they needed to end this now, but Piper was their first priority.

"Two bitches and a synth who looks like he'd blow away if I farted next to him." He laughs at his own joke, but only him. One thing is for certain, and that is Slag loves to hear the sound of his own stupid raspy voice.

"You can do better than that, or is the girl we have not worth more to you." He continues to try and insult and piss Blue, as well as her companions off, but the vault dweller only smiles and lights a cigarette close to her own Raider captives who are extremely flammable at the moment.

"She looks plenty worth it to me." His suggestive grin makes Nora cringe but she can't let him see that he's getting to her.

"Bring her out and they don't get hurt," Nora warns.

"You think I care about them?" He scoffs, motioning to the three prisoners, but Nora can tell that he is bluffing, at least a little.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Valentine voices his opinion to her again, but only so Blue can hear.

Nick was able to retrieve everything from Nora's list and was already skeptical as to why she needed the supplies. His skepticism nearly turned to screaming at his friend when he saw what she was planning.

_'We don't torture people!'_ He had shouted once Blue bound her captives, filled each tire with everything that was flammable, put it over their heads, and threatened each of them if they made a sound. She made them kneel in front of the former assembly plant, and Nick immediately took exception to what Nora was doing. He understood the fact that she wanted to get Piper back, so did he, but this was not the way. 

_'Just follow my lead.'_   Was the only explanation given, and initially Nick didn't want any part of the plan but he was soon convinced by Hancock that she has a good reason for everything she does and for him to give her a chance. He eventually calmed down but is still doubtful that any kind of attack will work before they hurt Piper no matter what they do since the building they are at is huge.

"You know Piper, the girl you have..." Blue motions to the building behind the Raider leader while walking in front of her captives. Her expression completely void of her true feelings as thoughts of Piper being hurt flow freely through her mind.

"Well, she got me into this habit." She says while looking at her cigarette and then takes a drag. There are only about fifty meters and twenty guards in between Blue, Slag, and the doorway, but she still thinks she can make it with a few Molotov cocktails and some well-placed shots. The surrounding desolate area made it difficult to set up snipers nearby and as much as Nora wants to go in, guns blazing, she needs to stick to the plan.

"And as bad as it is." Nora continues. "I find that they don't burn hot enough when I want to start a fire." She stops next to the farthest captive and flicks the small lit amber on the ground and snuffs it out with her foot.

None of the men kneeling beside her can see what she is doing since they are blindfolded but they can hear the flick of the lighter as she walks by them, and they are beginning to plead for their lives, but Nora ignores them and pulls out a cigar and continues to pace.

"Now cigars on the other hand..." Nora stops and looks at the Raider leader, whose grip on the railing that he is standing behind tightens.

"No one threatens my men!" He yells out, but Blue continues nonchalantly.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I killed my first person, and enjoyed it?" She asks rhetorically, brow raised, eyes wide, and voice echoing off of the building behind her. 

"Name was Kellogg..." Nick looks over at Cait who glances back but shrugs him off.

Everyone knows the story about the long drawn out process that Nora took to kill the man who stole her son, and it's something that has taken her a long time to get over. Everyone understood, but Cait was the only one who agreed that the Institute's mercenary deserved what he got. Hearing her bring it up now frightens the synth detective as far as how far she will go.

"He used to smoke these, but I could never get used to the smell." She says and pauses to light the brittle cigar. 

"Now I'm not going to bore you with the details, but while I was gutting him for information I told him how I found him. It was the stench." Nora takes a few long drags to get the end to burn hot, then holds it up.

"I never understood why he told me this...maybe he knew it was his time or didn't care, but he had said that he enjoyed them because they burned for a long time and he could just sit and relax."

"I will kill you, you bitch!" Slag shouts back.

"Bring her out or I'll burn you all just like this cigar, and your men here. Slowly." She finishes her sentence and drops the lit end onto the captive closest to her then begins to walk forward.

The heat from the engulfed victim warms her back as she walks closer to the Raider leader. She wants to see his face right before she puts a bullet in it so he realizes that she is not messing around anymore. The screams from behind her stop after a gun goes off and the lifeless body falls to the ground but continues to burn.

"The next one stays lit until he stops screaming." She says lighting another cigar.

"Do you think that I won't do this to all of you." She shouts while motioning to everyone looking back in horror. The Raiders were no stranger to torture but they are the ones usually doing it and now that the tables are turned and there is someone else out there who not only have killed the majority of them off but enjoys doing it makes them all begin to think.

"Do you think I give a shit about any of you?" Nora is now close enough to see everyone's shocked face, to include  Slags who is now seething.

"I want her out here now!"

"Fine!" The raider leader screams and motions for one of his men to go retrieve Piper.

For a moment Nora feels relieved, but then notices the smirk on Slags face and the fact that she is being surrounded. She knows that she screwed up by getting too close and now she may not have a way out, but as long as Piper is okay then nothing else matters. She soon notices everyone’s attention is now looking to the front door, and slowly reaches for her pistol. Seeing her lover being dragged out causes her stomach to drop and fear to take over, and she barely notices the vault-tec salesmen being led away as well.

"And here she is. The woman of the hour." Stag sounds like a game show host but the sinister look he has is telling Nora that he's not going to hold up his end. She realizes just how true her thoughts are after she sees that she is completely surrounded, and a fist connects to the side of her face, knocking her to the ground.

"Now release the rest of my men or I execute the reporter!" The click of a gun hammer is all Nora hears after the ringing subsides.

After a moment she gives the order to release the hostages they were using as leverage and soon Piper is being lead past her to safety, all be it fighting the entire time. As she passes the lovers lock eyes and Blue feels relief while Piper feels fear.

"Blue..."

"I'm alright Piper. Did these assholes touch you?" Seeing Piper shake her head no relieves some of her angst but not all of it.

"I just need to have a short discussion and then I'll be there in just one minute." Blue tries to reassure the woman she loves but can see that she fails miserably. Piper isn't afraid of much but losing her family, losing Blue again, is what she fears the most.

That fear doubles when she sees the butt of a shotgun collide with Blue's jaw, and she finds herself on the ground again.

"Let me go you fuck." Nora can hear Piper try to fight her way out of the man’s grasp until he pushes the reporter to the ground and warns her to stay down. From her angle, she can see past the boots of her enemies that Cait is leading her away and trying to explain it all. She is even showing her the mannequin that they set on fire instead of using the real thing. Nora kept most everyone in the dark since it needed to look like she would go to any length and it worked, minus her current situation.

"You changed the rules when you came here with backup and you decided to barbecue one of my men!" Slag says through gritted teeth while he yanks her head up by her hair, and begins to drag her into the assembly plant.

"I was going to make it quick for you, but your little story and light show gave me an idea." The order to shoot was only supposed to be carried out when Piper was in the clear, but now that she is in harm’s way it seems that her order is not being followed. The chain that they are wrapping around her neck, that's connected to a hoist that is moving her over a pit of molten steel is making her anxious, and she hopes that her friends hurry the fuck up.

"I'm going to dip you in one piece at a time. Make you scream my name to stop." He threatens and she shudders to think how many people have met this same fate.

"Don't worry about your companions though. I'm going to line them up right next to..."

The first shot passes through the broken window, shearing the chain that's holding her up, and Nora closes her eyes and hopes that she lands on solid ground or Slags head. Succeeding in landing on the former, but still close enough to a stunned Raider, Nora slips out of the chain, grabs his pipe pistol from his waist and fires twice into his stomach. Gunfire erupts outside the Raider base, muffling out the screams of the frantic and wounded while those on the inside of the building trying to figure out where all of this is coming from. There were only two people outside and there is no way they had this much firepower.

"Boss, what do we do?" One of the Raiders asks in confusion.

"Fucking shoot something!" Slag screams then turns to face Nora who has just killed two more Raiders, and ducks behind cover.

"And I want that bitches head on a spike after this is all over." He points to the vault dweller, who smiles back and moves out of sight.

The doors to the Corvega plant explode open after a missile connects, killing everyone in the area. The sound of bullets flying through the air is like music to Nora and she stays behind cover as best that she can, but there are too many people shooting at her for her to stay in one place. She scrambles up a flight of steps as bullets ricochet off of the metal catwalk, and she can hear the Raider leader scream for someone to put a bullet in her ass. Nora shoots randomly at the ground causing her attackers to duck out of the way until her ammo is spent, but it gives her enough time to make it to the room at the end of the walkway where a petrified man is shaking in the corner. He drops his shotgun when she kicks in the door and pleads for his life, obviously not someone who should be here, so Nora takes pity and hits him in the side of the head with her new weapon, knocking him out.

_'Better a knot on the head then the  alternative.'_ She thinks while gently rubbing her own injury.

The gunfire in the distance hasn't let up and she can now see some members of the Minutemen and Railroad entering the building. A smile appears at how well everything is working out so then she begins to search the room she is in. A few shells and some .38 ammo is all that she can find but a duffle bag under a desk reveals what she is missing. Her smile grows as she pulls the scoped rifle from the bag then loads the weapon. It isn't her boomstick, MacCready who probably shot the chain and saved her has that, but this will work just as well. She takes a position and begins to fire at the men below, and takes out about a dozen or so Raiders. But she soon realizes that the majority of the shooting is still coming from outside, and she guesses that the roof is where she needs to be.

She makes her way to the stairs that lead to the upper level and runs full force through the door, not anticipating the group of fifty or so raiders and gunners waiting on the other side.

"Howdy boys. I'm today’s entertainment." She says to the stunned crowd of men in front of her in a sultry voice.

Nora and Piper have had this happen to them on countless occasions while walking into places that they thought were empty, only to find a group of Raiders or super mutants staring back at them, just as surprised. The first time it happened, no one said anything until Nora came up with the line, and it became a running joke between the two of them. While Nora would say something similar to what she just did in a sultry voice, and do something suggestive like open her top a little, Piper would throw a few grenades into the shocked crowd. It normally worked since the Raiders would get turned on and the super mutants would become confused and it gave the two women enough time to find cover.

Now though, it is just her, and her distraction is only going to last so long. She is barely able to grab her shotgun and a grenade that isn't there before someone realizes who she is and opens fire. Finding cover, but not before she takes a round in her calf, Nora now misses having someone to watch her back more so than ever. The firefight is still going on but once again Blue has put herself in harm’s way and if she gets harmed Piper will not be pleased. She can hear the fall of multiple footsteps coming closer and fires her rifle blindly and misses with each shot. She is hoping that she can keep them back long enough until someone realizes where she is, but the barrel of a gun being pushed into the back of her neck suggests that she didn't cover all of her basis.

"On your feet bitch." She hears a female voice say from behind, causing her to drop her weapons and raise her arms in surrender. 

"Where is she goddammit?" Slags voice rumbles from the doorway where she was just standing. Apparently, he really wants to finish their chat.

Pushing past his men, the leader of the dwindling Raider's moves quickly to get into Nora's face and place his burly hand around the smaller woman's throat. They both stare at each other, neither one backing down until the hand around her neck squeezes and Nora's vision turns blurry, but she pushes him off and drops him with a kick to the groin while the large group that has surrounded them begins to cheer them on much to Nora's relief. Some are for her while others are encouraging Slag to get up but she only hopes that they don't all turn on her once she is through with this piece of shit. 

"I'm going to kill you." Slag says while trying to catch his breath and stand upright as the pain slowly subsides.

"Bring it bitch," Nora says and sweeps his leg out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground again. She smiles when a volley of cheers come from behind her and hopes that she can keep this up until someone can find her.

 

* * *

 

"We have to find Blue, Nick" Piper says while taking cover from a volley of shots aimed at her from the Gunners above.

The small group had made their way into the building and had been frantically searching for the leader of the Minutemen but soon found themselves cut off from the rest.

"One problem at a time," Nick says while firing back and hitting his mark.

He knew his words weren't going to help the worried Diamond City reporter but they were the truth. They needed to get out of this mess of being surrounded before they could rescue anyone.

"Screw this! If you're not going to help then I'll go by myself."

"Don't see that happening Piper," Cait says while shooting from her own cover.

"I don't want to be around if you get injured. Bad enough we let you talk us into coming here." The former pit fighter says, ducking away from the return fire.

"Cait is right Piper," Nick says as he drops another Gunner that is trying to get into the small utility room they went into.

"I don't need Nora cross with us because you got hurt on our watch."

"Well, I refuse to stay here while she is off by herself. I'm the reason you're all here anyway, so this is my mess to clean up." Piper shoots the last of the remaining Raiders that had them surrounded, and starts to walk away despite what was just said. She makes it out of the doorway when a voice she recognizes screams from high above everyone which causes most on the ground to look up.

The fighting had begun to subside and the scream from Slag up on the metal walkway high in the air caused everyone to take notice while Nora continued to kick and punch the much larger man. Landing a few well-placed shots seemed to drop Slag to one knee for a moment but he'd get back up and continue his assault. Even though Blue had better stamina she was tiring since she had to hit him that much more to get him to fall when it only took one hit from him when he could catch her. 

Piper's focus is broken for a moment when a few cheers come from the double doors where the two fighters came from. Apparently, this started on the roof and the reporter sighs in relief when she sees how many Raiders are out there, and they let them fight it out rather than just shoot her. Piper’s lips curl up into a smile when she wonders if Blue had to do their normal routine when walking into a room and being heavily outnumbered. The distraction always seemed to work, especially when Nora did it to Piper in their home but now is not the time for that. Piper's fear is subsided for a moment when she quickly looks back to where her lover is and shakes her head while Nora hops on the larger man’s back, wraps her small, but muscular arms around his neck, and squeezes, dropping him to one knee.

Nick and Cait join her but ignore the brawl that is happening while they help the other Minutemen round up the now surrendering Raiders and Gunners. Even the cheers from the roof have stopped due to Tinker Tom and the Railroads verti-bird that has a minigun trained on everyone on the roof. 

Piper quickly glances from Blue to what is happening and a smile forms. That smile turns to horror when she looks back to her ass-kicking lover and she sees Slag slowly stand up, walk back into a pillar which causes Nora to lose her grip and fall to her hands and knees, then watch helplessly as Slag kicks Blue in the side repeatedly.

"No!" Piper yells which causes everyone to take notice but no one from the Minutemen or Railroad are close enough to help.  

Upon the catwalk, Nora's insides feel like they've been run over as Slags large boot connects with her ribs and she is sure that at least one is now broken.

"You thought you could take me out, huh?!" He yells and kicks her again.

She grabs his leg which causes him to stumble a little, drop to one knee and take a moment to catch his breath. He looks around when he realizes that the shooting has stopped to find that all of his men are either dead or captured and he screams in disbelief.

"I will kill you!" He says as he picks Nora up by her neck, and squeezes. He can see the surprised look she has that begins to change to fear, then nothing as her eyes close, and her hands that had been frantically grasping at his arms, loosen and fall to her sides.

"Here is your hero." He says while holding her limp body up for all to see. He laughs when he hears a scream from below and the last thing he sees before a bullet enters his skull is the reporter running up to try and save the woman who has been a pain in his ass for so long. 

The shot that takes his life echo's throughout the building, but the cries from Piper, who has reached Blue's side and is frantically injecting her lover with a stimpak, overpower everything else. Flashes of Blue lying dead in the alley after the explosion that nearly took her life all those months ago move through Piper's mind while she is by her lover’s side. They have been through too much to lose it all now and the Diamond City reporter refuses to let that happen.

"You are not going to die on me again," Piper says while pushing down on her chest, then searches for a pulse. She is relieved to find one and a cry of joy is followed when crystal Blue eyes open and stare back.

"Hey, you." Nora's voice is strained and Piper quiets her with a flurry of kisses, and thank you's, but Blue needs to say one last thing.

"Next time you want to go off by yourself you wait for me, okay?" Nora pulls the visibly shaking reporter in for a much needed and missed hug as she shakes her head yes into her shoulder. It had been the worst few days of Nora's life when Piper was missing, but now the Diamond City reporter is safe, and the Raiders and Gunners are no more. So there is one less problem that she has to deal with while wandering the Commonwealth, but someone else can take over for a while, she needs her rest while she holds Piper for at least a week; maybe more.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank those of you who read this. This is the first of many stories that I have for this series and I hope you all enjoy those as well.  
> The idea for this came to me when I lost Piper for three days when she went to Diamond City to uncover the truth about the mayor being a synth. How this story came from that ill never know but thanks again for reading.


End file.
